Kingston University for the Gifted

Chapter 14: #collegememories

"Good morning, Kyle!" calls Kiera from the arena. "How was your winter break?"

I grin and head over to the rail. "Cold. Very, very cold. How was yours?"

She smiles, cantering Melody over to where I'm standing. "Not cold. Do you want to give Melody a spin? She's already warmed up."

"Sure," I answer, trying to sound nonchalant. I just unloaded Prim and Sol and put them away, so I haven't ridden at all today.

I duck under the railing and wait for Kiera to dismount, then swing into the mare's saddle.

"I was jumping that four-foot course over there if you want to give it a go," Kiera says. She leans up against the fence. "Work on your equitation."

Smiling, I direct Melody in a short canter circle and take off. Melody's warmed up, so I don't have to be, right? I'm fine.

I ignore the ache in my ankles and fly through the arena.

--------------

Opal taps her foot impatiently. "So, are you coming to say hello to your friend, or are you going to sit up there all day?"

"Well," I say, coming to a halt near the gate, "nice to see you too, Opal."

Distracted, I swing off Melody and land strangely, stumbling a bit. Must be because I gave my ankles such a workout. Carefully holding Melody's reins, I give Opal a hug and start leading the horse back to her stall. 

"I'll see you at dinner!" she calls, walking off. 

Slowly, I go through the motions of putting Melody away. I don't know why, but my lower calf is really sore. I figure it'll go away in a few hours, though.

I trek across campus to the dining hall. I take one look at the daily dinner menu and decide to just make a salad. I grab my full plate and head over to the usual table.

Neville grins. "He's alive!"

"Yeah, Kyle," Carmela comments, "I was beginning to think you'd actually died in the stables and nobody told us."

I wince a little as I sat down. "I'm sorry to stop the celebrations, then."

Matt winks. "Caught in the act. So, how was winter break?"

The table breaks out in conversation and laughter. I pick at my salad and grin along. Finally, Neville gets up, empty plate in hand, and I move to follow him.

"Kyle," Opal says, "You can finish eating. We'll stay."

I shake my head. "It's fine. I'm done. I'm not hungry."

She blinks, not quite believing me. "...okay. Are we heading to your dorm, then?"

I nod, forcing a smile. "Disney movies and fruit snacks?"

Carmela beams. "Now you're speaking my language." She rushes in the direction of the door, Matt's eyes following her all the way.

-------------------

"Are you okay?" Matt asks, looking up at me from his laptop.

I nod. "I'll be fine. I'll stop by the sports medicine center tomorrow after class."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. It's just a little swollen." 

He shakes his head and shuts his laptop. "Okay, if you say so. I'm going to bed. Wake me up if you need me."

"Sure. G'night." I slip into my room and sigh. My right ankle is fine, but my left is not only killing me, but has a really horrible looking swollen lump on my lower calf. It's to the point where it's throbbing.